Follower for filing-trays.



L. MANNY.

fr. FoLLowER FOR FILING WAYS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29. |916.

FRED L. Maigrir, or BENTONHARBOR, MCHIGAN, Assrcnon, BY Mnsnn ASSIGNMENTS,

To BAKERNAWTER COMPANY, or :snaren or MIcHIGAN,

t i f iste.

HARBOS, MICHIGAN, A. CORPORATXON s lrontcwvnn non Firme-Tears;

Application filed May 29, 1916. Serial No. 100,439.

- To @ZZ wlwm it may conoci/'nr l Be it known that I, Fano L. MANNY, a

or follower adapted to. be slidingly moved from front to rear of a tray or box, such as trays ordinarily used as card index con-vr y, tainers, or for filing cabinetsfor the reception and classification-of letters, or bills, or other documents, in accordance with methods -now largely followed in cominci'- cial establishments. The object of my invention is the provision of simple and effective adjusting mechanism adapted to permit the back plate t0 move .freely in a forward dlrectlon, but arranged tol automatically' lock the plate against rearward move- 'l elevation; Fig. 3

ment exceptv when a releasing member is. operative to permit such movement. `71th 25 this cb ject in view I havederised the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings and hereinafter described in de-h tail, and `my invention".consists in the ar .rangement and organization of cooperating parts, the essential elements thereof being more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Figure yl. of the drawings' is a Aperspective, l of.' a filing t 'ay 1.)'rovided with a follower or adjustable back to which my invention is applied; .Figff'is a cross-section of the tray and follower trackilooking toward the rear of the box, withtlie follower shown in is 'a -,detail on the line 3-3 of Fig. Q, illustrating part of the gripping mechanism; and/Fig. 4 is a bottom plan. View of a portion of the gggrimiiug` and gripreleasing mechanism of the follower.

The same reference chz'iracters indicate the same parts in'all the figures ot' the drawing` I My invention may be embodied in an adjustable vfollower or back such as is used in manydifferent kinds of boxes' to vary the space in front ofthe follower, and support the contents lnioperly. whether the box be f nearly cmpty'or fulh For purposes of illustration and' description l have chosen a well.

knownform oftray, surlrl as is used as the drawer of a'cabinet for the reception of the specification. f Leners Patent.

in the county of Berrien is brazed or otherwise secured,

.Patented May as, rois. i

cards `of a card index. system, or sheets of similar character. To adapt the drawer for the employment of my invention, there isy securedl to the bottom thereof a track, or slideway, which in the present instance con` sists of a strip of sheet metal 1, bent upwardly. to form sides 2, and bent inwardly lat the top of the' sides to form overhanging rewardly ybent flange 5, and in the present instance, though not necessarily, is formed at the bottom with rearward attaching flaps G brazed or otherwise secured to horizontal iiange or supporting strip 7. The slide 8 upon which the plate 4 is mounted, consists of a metal base 9 formed with downwardly directed iianges 10 at its sides, andan upward inclined tongue ll'to which the p'iate` and on each side of thetongue a forwardly oitending runner l2 which is .continuous with the flange l0 and a narrow adjacent portion of the base 9. The flanges l0 are similarly cutaway to form opposite wedge-shaped .re-`

lcesses'having an inclined wedging. face 13 rising from front to rear and terminating at a perpendicular rear wall 13 at the widest part of the recess. Confined between the opposite sides 2 of the flideway, and between the wedging faces 13 of the slide and the bottom of the Aslideway, (see Figs, 3 and i) is arranged a roller 14 whichconsti-tutes a clutch member for frictionally binding the slide in thel slideway. This roller is normally pulled forwardly by a light spring, and the rnoportion and arrangement of the parts are such that it will lie in frictional contact with the wedging faces 13 and the bottom of the slideway at av point near or vided with cams 16 at their bottom ends adapted to force the roller rearwardly when the rods are rotated. The rods are under spring tension, in the present instance through a common springy 17, tending to maintain the cams out of contact with the roller, and their tops are bent and constructed to serve aPI a pair-of nger pieces 18, which' may be iorced toward each otherl when grasped between the thumb and forefinger in order to rotate the rods and shift the roller rearwardly as above described.

It is obvious that with the construction and arrangement ofk parts whichA have been described, the follower cannot be forced rearwardly by any pressure'upon it, since such movement would tend to roll the roller toward the narrower part of' the recesses in the flanges 1() of the slide, and the slide would therefore only the more tightly engage the overhanging flanges 3 'of the slidewav. Upon manipulation of .the fingerpieuces 18 of the releasing mechanism, however, the-roller will be shifted into inoperative position, where it. can exert no wedging action between the Islide and the bottom of the slideway, and the slide-and follower can therefore be shifted freely.

.While, as above described, the` follower cannot be shifted rearwardly from anyl form and construction of parts without de? parting from the principles of my inven- .tion as above described, and the appended claims are therefore not limited further than required by their ,terms to the exact structure herein shown.v

I claim:

l. In combination with a l tray provided with a. central bottom slideway, a follower equipped with a. slide member adapted to run in said 'slideway and formed with an inclined wedging "surface, a rollerarranged to ooperate with the wedging surface of the slide and with the slideway,and means for shifting. the roller out of cooperative relation.

2.' In combination with a Itray provided with`^ a central bottom slideway, a follower equippedv with a slide member adapted to run in said slideway and formed with an inclined wedging surface, a spring-pressed roller arranged to normally yieldingly engage the wedging surface ofthe slide and the bottom of the slideway, and manually operable means for shifting `the roller out offcoperative relation with said wedging surface and said slideway.

3. In combination with a tray provided with a central bottom slideway, a follower equipped with a slide member adapted to run in said slideway and formed with an vinclined wedging surface, a spring-pressed roller arranged to normally yieldingly engage the wedving surface of the slide and the bottom of.n the slideway, and a pair of manually'operable spring-pressed pivoted rods equipped with cams arranged to engage said roller and shift it out of coperative relation with said wedging surface and said slideway. t

4. In combination with a tray provided with a central bottom slideway having a bottom and side faces and overhanglng retaining flanges, a follower including a sliding member formed with downwardly turned flanges, said flanges being formed with opposite recesses having. wedging faces, and a roller extending between the side faces of the slidewayand arranged to coperate with the wedging faces of the flange recesses and the bottom of the slideway. q

5. In combination with a tray provided with a central bottom slideway having abottom and side faces and` overhanging retaining flanges, a follower including a sliding member formed with downwardly turned flanges, said flanges being formed with opposite recesses having wedging faces, a spring-pressed roller extending between the side-faces of the slideway and arranged to- 7. In'combination with a tray provided with a central bottom slideway, a follower equipped with a sliding member adapted to run in said slideway, a roller constituting a clutch land coperating' with said sliding Amember and said slidway, and means for shifting said 'roller comprising a pair of plvoted rods equipped at their tops with linger pieces and equipped at their bottom ends with cams arranged to engage the opposite ends,l of said roller. i y

8. In combination with a tray provided with 'a central bottom slideway having a, 130- operating rods equipped With cams al', Jtheir' Vbottom and side faces andoverliangng retaining flanges, a follower including a sliding member :formed with downwardly turned flanges, said flanges being formed'with opposite recesses having Wedgng faces, e spring-pressed roller extending betweenthe side-faces of the `slidevmy' and. arranged to yeldingly engage-the wedgng faces of the flange recesses andthe bottom of the slide,- Way, and a pair of pvoted spring-pressed lower ends arranged to engage theopposite ends of sadvvroller.

. 9. Incombination with av tray provided l with a sldewey, a follower including n plate formed with a rearwardly bent top and a. rearwardly extending horizontal flange at its bottom and equipped' with :L sliding member adapted to run.- in said slideway; a roller constituting a clutch and oon operang with said sliding member and.

Saad slldeway, and aV peur' of sprlngpressed y 'Wermm H. HANNA,'

n @Henne-EY Houemom.

ger pieces and arrangedto shift said rol-ler. 25 

